Mitt Romney suffers fresh blow as key ally quits campaign

Tim Pawlenty, a close ally who was on Mr Romney's vice presidential shortlist, left his post to become the chief lobbyist for America's banking industry.

The news came during the Republican hopeful's worst campaign week so far and coincided with an attempt to restyle himself as a champion of the poor after a damaging video had seen him effectively disown half the American population as 'dependents'.

Mr Pawlenty, who had been widely expected to take a job in a Romney cabinet, hailed Mr Romney as "a truly good man and great leader", and stressed that he would be banned from party-political work in his new job.

However, he did not explain why he needed to leave the election campaign immediately. He is due to take up his new role on November 1 and is expected to be paid about $1.8 million (£1.1 million) a year.

"Tim Pawlenty jumps the sinking S.S. Romney," declared Vanity Fair magazine. Jeffrey Sachs, the economist and Columbia University professor, accused Mr Pawlenty of "bailing ship" and said his move "exposes the systemic corruption" between politics and big business.

A spokesman for Mr Pawlenty told The Daily Telegraph: "If what you are suggesting is that he thinks Governor Romney is going to lose, well, he does not think that".

Mr Pawlenty's move to head the Financial Services Roundtable makes him a public face for the industry roundly blamed for the 2008 financial crisis that prompted America's crippling recession, which has left 23 million people jobless or seeking more work four years later.

It was announced amid ongoing criticism of the secretly-recorded remark to wealthy donors by Mr Romney, a former private equity boss worth $250 million (£160 million), that he would "not worry" about the 47 per cent of voters who were "dependants" and refused to take responsibility for their lives.

Seeking to limit the damage to his electoral prospects, Mr Romney began telling voters on Thursday: "My campaign is about the 100 per cent of America."

Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation, a pro-transparency group, said: "This is not going to allay fears from some voters in the Midwest that a Romney presidency would be too close to the financial industry.

"There is an incestuous relationship between Wall Street and Washington, and this is another example of that," Mr Allison told the Daily Telegraph.

Lobbyists frequently rank among the most unpopular professionals in America, alongside Washington politicians and Wall Street bankers. Only one in 10 respondents to a Public Affairs Pulse poll said in July that they would think more positively of a corporation that employed lobbyists.

Mr Pawlenty will become Wall Street's emissary to Washington less than a year after he said in an interview that as president, his "message to Wall Street" would be: "Get your snout out of the trough".

After abandoning his own campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, he became one of Mr Romney's official "surrogates" licensed to attack opponents on the candidate's behalf. Accusing Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker, of lobbying for a government-backed mortgage lender, Mr Pawlenty disdainfully labelled him an "influence peddler".

Mr Pawlenty expressed disappointment after losing out to Paul Ryan in the contest to be named Mr Romney's running mate. He was also shortlisted unsuccessfully by John McCain in 2008.

Mr Romney trails Barack Obama by an average of 3.1 points nationally, according to RealClearPolitics, which also rates the Republican challenger as behind in all 10 of the likeliest battleground states.

The former Massachusetts governor said in a statement yesterday: "Tim Pawlenty is a dear friend While I regret he cannot continue as co-chair of my campaign, his new position advancing the integrity of our financial system is vital to the future of our country".